The present invention concerns an electrical appliance which can comb out, comb, and style hair, more particularly frizzy or delicate hair.
Existing electrical appliances are intended to stimulate the scalp by massaging it with slow oscillatory movements. A single or multiple comb is driven in slow oscillatory motion by an electric motor. The comb is not used to style the hair but as a means for getting through the hair and reaching the scalp to massage it. For the massage to be effective, it is assumed that the hair is neither dense nor delicate, since otherwise the hair would be pulled out, broken or tangled.
The problem with combing out a frizzy or tangled hairstyle is more complex than massaging, as each little tangled tuft must be treated separately from the neighboring knot. If a conventional comb is oscillated using an electric motor, as described for example in United States patents U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,096 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,870,056, the result is disastrous for frizzy or fragile hair, since a repetitive force is applied to the first tuft encountered by the comb, resulting in its hairs being torn out or broken. Frizzy hair, because of its oval and curled shape, and a low ultimate tensile stress of 40 to 60 grams (g), suffers a great deal of injury during normal hair styling.